Chapter 1182: 坚持

The winds rise across Kyushu.

The winds rise across Kyushu.

The sudden turn of events caught them off guard. Even with their extensive combat experience, the powerhouses of Kyushu had never encountered anything so bizarre. After a long and fierce battle, the Blood Giant's attacks remained incredibly monotonous, consisting merely of punches and swings. Although its movements became faster and faster, evading them didn't seem particularly difficult.

Thus, no one had anticipated that the creature could regenerate two more arms.

The Blood Giant’s two newly regenerated arms stretched out. One was clenched into a fist, while the other transformed from a fist into an open palm, attacking in two separate directions.

The fist was aimed at the position of several magic cultivators, including the Sect Master and Moon Ji. During the ongoing siege, the magic cultivators had unleashed the most ferocious and intense attacks, so the Blood Giant naturally prioritized eliminating them.

The palm, however, was clearly directed at Lu Ye’s location. No matter how flawed its intelligence, it could sense the powerful sacred energy within Lu Ye’s body. Perhaps it didn’t understand why Lu Ye hadn’t responded to its summons and merged with it, but its instinctive craving for sacred blood was undeniable, which is why it targeted him.

Lu Ye stood on the outer perimeter of the battlefield, not out of cowardice, but because every single person present was his senior. In such a confrontation, his elders, consciously or unconsciously, protected him, keeping him from moving too far to the front.

As the palm reached out, several figures in front, recognizing the dire situation, bravely launched attacks, but they couldn't hinder it in the slightest.

As Long Bo dodged, he didn't forget to shout a warning to Lu Ye: "Run!"

Of course, Lu Ye would run. He had been closely monitoring the changes in the Blood Giant’s sacred energy, vaguely guessing that something would shift once its sacredness surpassed his own. Coupled with his position on the outer edge, he had room to maneuver. When the enormous hand, capable of blotting out the sky, descended, he had already retreated backward, narrowly avoiding the gigantic bloody hand. Yet, the swirling gale it created still destabilized him, revealing the sheer power of that grab. If he had been caught directly, Lu Ye estimated he would have had no chance of escape and would likely have been crushed to death by the Blood Giant like a tiny figurine.

While Lu Ye escaped his close call unharmed, the situation on the other side was grim. Facing the sudden incoming fist, several magic cultivators hastily deployed various defensive measures: some sacrificed defensive spiritual treasures, while others activated protective spells.

But in the face of such a devastating assault, all defenses proved futile.

The glow of the spiritual treasures dimmed, and protective spells shattered. Under the furious impact, several figures were sent flying like kites, spitting blood and their life force waning. Only the Sect Master, thanks to his powerful physique, was largely unharmed, though his chest heaved and his blood qi surged.

With two swishing sounds, two more arms sprouted from the Blood Giant’s armpits, striking out in two additional directions.

Furthermore, numerous streaks of blood-light flashed within the large and small blood-colored vortices across its body, transforming into waves of crimson attacks that struck out in all directions.

In an instant, the Blood Giant unleashed its full power. Although its massive form still appeared cumbersome, its bizarre and unpredictable methods left the human powerhouses in disarray.

Everyone was forced to dodge, and their occasional counterattacks proved futile. The situation had suddenly become extremely disadvantageous for the human faction.

Originally, when its sacred energy was not stronger than Lu Ye’s, the Kyushu cultivators had maintained the offensive initiative. But once its sacredness surpassed Lu Ye’s, it was as if it had broken free from an invisible restraint, and nothing could hinder the full display of its power.

What weighed most heavily on Lu Ye’s mind was that its sacred energy continued to increase, seemingly without end.

However, Lu Ye knew this was impossible. The Blood Giant’s sacred energy stemmed from two sources: the fusion of over twenty Blood Race Saint Seeds, and the sacred blood contained in the blood flowing from the underground blood river. Therefore, it undoubtedly had a limit; it just hadn’t reached it yet.

He had withdrawn from the battlefield, observing from a short distance. This wasn't due to cowardice, but because he needed to focus on monitoring the changes in the Blood Giant's sacred energy. On Jade Pillar Peak, blood-red light flashed ceaselessly across the sky.

The figures of the human cultivators darted back and forth, creating a chaotic spectacle, but in reality, every move was fraught with peril.

Fortunately, all the cultivators involved were at the Divine Sea Ninth Realm. With their coordinated efforts, they could temporarily contend with the Blood Giant, though it was hard to say for how long.

This kind of engagement demanded a constant expenditure of their own power. If it lasted too long, the cultivators would be severely depleted, and any moment of carelessness could lead to an irreversible disaster.

The Blood Giant’s attacks weren’t limited to its six arms and the concentrated blasts of blood-light; it also unleashed intangible soul impacts. Relatively speaking, these were the most difficult to defend against.

These soul impacts originated from the Saint Seed heads embedded in its body. Like fleshy tumors, these heads, seemingly not fully integrated, still retained the soul power of the Saint Seeds from their lives. While they couldn’t directly engage in the battle at this moment, they were unimpeded in activating their soul powers.

This meant the Kyushu cultivators were facing not only the Blood Giant but also the souls of over twenty powerful Saint Seeds.

"Can anyone come up with a plan? This can't go on!" someone roared in frustration.

A situation where they could only endure blows without retaliating hadn't been seen in years. Everyone felt suppressed and helpless, and critically, such a stalemate was unsustainable in the long run.

But at this very moment, who could possibly devise a plan? Everyone was scrambling to dodge the Blood Giant’s frenzied attacks while simultaneously protecting their souls from interference by the Saint Seeds.

It’s fair to say that these top powerhouses of Kyushu were teetering on the brink of life and death every moment; "thrilling" scarcely described their predicament. "Little Lu Ye, have you figured anything out yet? If not, we'll have to retreat!" Long Bo called out loudly.

Among everyone present, Lu Ye was the most composed. After dodging an attack from the Blood Giant, he had jumped out of the battle circle and had been quietly observing. Dealing with Saint Seeds was Lu Ye’s forte; the hundreds of Saint Seeds who had died at his hands over the past two months were a testament to his skill. Furthermore, he had a history of turning the tide against insectoid swarms in the great secret realm of Kyushu.

So, seeing Lu Ye observing intently from the side, Long Bo sensed an opportunity and decided to ask.

Given the current circumstances, if even Lu Ye had no solution, then they would truly have to retreat first and reconsider their options. They couldn't possibly engage in a life-or-death battle with the Blood Giant here.

Based on the current information, the Blood Giant was indeed powerful, so much so that even their group of over a hundred cultivators felt helpless.

Yet, it ultimately had not exceeded the limits of the world’s fundamental capacity. The Blood Refining Realm’s scale and foundation were comparable to Kyushu’s. The Blood Giant, born here, had not yet surpassed the Divine Sea Realm in terms of power level, because this realm was insufficient to birth stronger entities. This was also the fundamental reason why the Kyushu cultivators could still barely contend with it. If the Blood Giant were truly an existence that had completely transcended the Divine Sea Realm, then not a single person present would likely have been able to escape.

This wasn't the insectoid hive from the great secret realm, and they weren't trapped. If they truly needed to escape, there wouldn’t be any issue.

As for what to do next, that would require careful deliberation. Mobilizing a large army for a siege might be a viable method, though it might not work. Under such a fierce, relentless, and all-encompassing assault, only those at the Divine Sea Ninth Realm could even briefly contend; other cultivators might not even be able to get close.

"Just hold on a little longer!" Lu Ye shouted.

Long Bo’s eyes lit up upon hearing this. Although Lu Ye hadn’t given him a clear answer, that single sentence made him suspect that the young man had another plan up his sleeve.

The fierce battle continued unabated. From the looks of it, the Blood Giant was attacking relentlessly while the Kyushu cultivators scrambled to escape.

Lu Ye continued to observe. The good news was that the Blood Giant’s sacred energy increase was significantly diminishing. While it was still growing, its pace had slowed considerably.

This meant that the sacred blood within its body had been almost entirely integrated and refined. Therefore, even if it could still improve, it was rapidly approaching its limit.

Lu Ye let out a long breath.

This was precisely the situation he had been waiting for and hoped to see. If the Blood Giant’s sacred energy could increase endlessly, then this battle truly couldn't be fought, and they would have no choice but to retreat, as Long Bo had suggested.

"Seniors, please wait a moment. I'll be right back," Lu Ye said.

With that, Lu Ye vanished and retreated outwards.

No one knew where he was going or what he intended to do at this critical juncture. However, everyone understood that when Lu Ye returned, it might signal the time for a life-or-death battle with the Blood Giant.

They couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation.

As they waited, their maneuvers became even more cautious.

At this point, being killed or severely injured by the Blood Giant due to insufficient caution would be far too costly.

Lu Ye flew for two hundred li before finally stopping. This location was well beyond the battlefield atop Jade Pillar Peak, yet looking back, he could still witness the fierce conflict. Numerous blood-red lights streaked across the sky, almost tearing through the clouds.

Lu Ye began setting up a formation: a teleportation array.

Concurrently, several thousand li away, the clone—clad in the Crimson Dragon Battle Armor and with a sword gourd hanging from his waist—halted its rapid movement and also began setting up a formation.

From the moment Lu Ye realized that suppressing the Blood Giant’s sacred energy was key to today’s battle, his clone had begun rushing toward this location.

The clone could have reached the battlefield relatively quickly by utilizing the nearby Heavenly Mystery Pillars. However, given the urgent timeframe, the main body rushed out to meet the clone, aiming to save as much time as possible.

In just a moment, the teleportation arrays before both the main body and the clone were fully set up. The clone stepped into its formation, channeled spiritual energy into it, and its figure vanished amidst the spatial distortion.

When it reappeared, it was standing before the main body.

Lu Ye raised his hand and pressed it toward the clone. The next instant, the clone dissolved into nothingness, leaving only the Crimson Dragon Battle Armor and the sword gourd to fall to the ground.

The main body, however, trembled as a massive influx of sacred energy surged into it, causing his blood and qi to churn and his spiritual energy to surge.